A few things

I am sorry for not having posted in a while. I know you all check this daily to look for updates. :) Soon I hope to get back in the habit of posting every couple days. Usually I try to stick to one topic per entry but this one will jump around.

As most of you know right now there is an upheaval at work and that is part of the reason I have not been posting. I did not want to go into it and will not say much here. For those who don't know the short of it is our contract runs out at the end of this month. The new company BearingPoint has been hiring some people to keep in place. They also have two subs, one of which is Virtual-IT. That will be important to know later.

First I need to say congrats to my closest ex-co-worked Mandy. Friday was Mandy’s last day because she has found another job and decided to move on. I am very happy for her. Mandy and I started working together six and a half years ago. She started a week or two before me and was my supervisor. About two years later Mandy changed positions to be in charge of the database and I moved up to be in charge of the interface development. As such we have worked as a very close team. I have learned a huge amount from her and have greatly valued her friendship. I will misss working with her but hopefully will not lose touch. Thanks Mandy.

So after waiting weeks for BearingPoint (I affectionately call BP) to come talk to me about staying employed the point man decided to pull a bunch of us into a room and give us his spiel. In the end he asked us to send him an email with our resume, the salary we are currently making, the salary we would like to make and why we are of particular value to the organization. Here is the abridged version of how my negotiation is going…
BP: Give us you current salary
Me: Pay me lots of money
BP: Give us your current salary
Me: Ummmm, no, I’d like lots of money
BP: Give us you current salary
Me: Not gonna happen, just pay me lots of money
( three days later )
Virtual-IT: BP sent us your resume, tell us your current salary
(SIGH!!)

Yesterday I was able to catch up with a good friend, Curtis. He used to work for me a couple years ago and became essentially my right hand man. He decided to move on and has done well since despite my best efforts. He and his wife wandered into town for the weekend. I got to spend Saturday afternoon with them and a friend of theirs. It was a very pleasant way to pass the time and I look forward to doing it again.

A week ago I went to Virginia Beach for the ½ marathon. It was a good trip and needed break from home. I got to spend several hours with Rex and Erin. (Rex, I like her, you can keep her.) I met a bunch of new people that I hope to continue hanging out with now that we are home. I went out my friend’s hotel room and climbed from balcony to balcony past a room between us to get into our room. The lock on our front door was broken and fortunately we had left the balcony door unlocked. I hung out with Jilian during the run making it a fun run. I got to spend some time with Robert and the girls. I was a good trip.

Overall life is good. :)